"Dream a Little Dream of Me" is a song, from c.1931, with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt[1] and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It was first recorded in February 1931 by Ozzie Nelson and also by Wayne King and His Orchestra, with vocal by Ernie Birchill. A popular standard, more than 60 other versions have been recorded, but some of the highest chart ratings were in 1968 by Mama Cass Elliot with The Mamas & the Papas.
Early recordings
"Dream a Little Dream of Me" was recorded by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra, with vocal by Nelson, on February 16, 1931 for Brunswick Records. Two days later, Wayne King and His Orchestra, with vocal by Ernie Birchill, recorded the song for Victor Records. "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was also an early signature tune of Kate Smith. In the summer of 1950, seven recordings of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" were in release, with the versions by Frankie Laine and Jack Owens reaching the US Top 20 at respectively #18 and #14: the other versions were by Cathy Mastice, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan, Vaughn Monroe, Dinah Shore and a duet version by Bing Crosby and Georgia Gibbs. Other traditional pop acts to record "Dream a Little Dream of Me" include Louis Armstrong, Barbara Carroll, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Joni James, and Dean Martin.
The song was again recorded in 1968 by Mama Cass Elliot with The Mamas & the Papas, and then by Anita Harris. More than 40 other versions followed, including by the Mills Brothers, Sylvie Vartan, Henry Mancini, The Beautiful South, Anne Murray, Erasure, Michael Bublé, and Italian vocal group Blue Penguin (see below: List of recorded versions).
Cass Elliot version
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"Dream a Little Dream of Me"
The Mamas and Papas' version, with solo voice by Cass Elliot, released as a single during 1968.
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"Dream a Little Dream of Me" was recorded for the Mamas & the Papas April 1968 album release The Papas & The Mamas. The group had often sung the song for fun, having been familiarized with it by member Michelle Phillips, whose father had been friends with the song's co-writer, Fabian Andre, in Mexico City where Michelle Phillips' family had resided when she was a young girl. "Mama" Cass Elliot suggested to group leader John Phillips that the group record "Dream a Little Dream of Me". According to him she was unhappy while recording the song, objecting to its campiness. However, Elliot herself would later tell Melody Maker: "I tried to sing it like it was 1943 and somebody had just come in and said, 'Here's a new song.' I tried to sing it as if it were the first time."
In the album version, recorded with the Mamas and the Papas, a spoken introduction from an engineer is heard mentioning a drink, and then concluding with the words: "And now introducing: Mama Cass". Only the last part was heard on the single version of the song. Cass did her own whistling, which is heard before the song's fade.
By the time of the album's release, there were strong indications that the Mamas & the Papas were set to disband, a perception strengthened by the failure of the lead single "Safe in My Garden". Having an opportunity to promote the group's best-known member as a soloist, Dunhill Records gave a June 1968 single release to the "Dream a Little Dream of Me" track with the credit reading - to John Phillips' displeasure -[2] "Mama Cass with the Mamas & the Papas"; in its UK release the artist credit simply read "Mama Cass". Promoted in the US press and on billboards with a photograph of a discreetly but obviously nude Elliot lying in a bed of daisies,[3] "Dream a Little Dream of Me" peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 that August (its Cash Box peak was #10 and in Record World it reached #8). The Billboard Easy Listening chart ranked the single as high as #2.[4] In the UK "Dream a Little Dream of Me" reached #11 that September; the track also afforded Mama Cass a hit in Ireland (#13) and South Africa (#8). In Australia the Go-Set Top 40 chart ranked "Dream a Little Dream of Me" at #1 for the weeks of 4 & 11 September 1968. "Dream a Little Dream" was released as a single in Europe in 1992 - credited to the Mamas and the Papas and featuring that group's #1 hit "Monday, Monday" as the B-side - to reach #5 in Germany and #22 in Switzerland. In Australia the song spent two weeks at #1,[5] and was the 16th biggest hit of 1968.[6]
A slightly different version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was included on Elliot's solo debut album, Dream a Little Dream.[3]
Chart performance
Weekly singles charts
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Year-end charts
| Chart (1968) |
Position |
| Australia |
13 |
| Canada [8] |
72 |
| UK [9] |
94 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [10] |
105 |
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Anita Harris version
The release of the Mama Cass single of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" prompted a cover by Anita Harris which was recorded at Olympic Studios in a session produced by Mike Margolis with Alan Tew as musical director. Released 26 July 1968, the Harris version debuted in the UK Top 50 dated 10 August 1968 at #46 ahead of the Cass version at #49 although the latter would vault into the Top 30 and then Top 20 over the next two weeks while the Harris version would never reach the Top 30. However Harris's version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" would maintain a lower chart presence throughout the ascendancy of the Cass version with Harris's single peaking at #33 the week after Cass's peak at #11. Both Cass's and Harris's versions of the song have an inaccurate rendering of the middle eight bars.
Robbie Williams version
English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams recorded "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (retitled "Dream a Little Dream") for his tenth studio and second swing album, Swings Both Ways (2013). While the album version is a duet with Lily Allen, she was omitted from the single version, which was released on 13 December 2013 as the album's second single.
Track listings
- Irish digital download[11]
- "Dream a Little Dream" – 3:10
- German, Swiss and Austrian digital download[12]
- "Dream a Little Dream" (single version) – 3:11
- "You Got Old" – 3:43
- "Puttin' on the Ritz" (remix) – 2:18
Charts
Release history
List of recorded versions
- Ozzie Nelson recorded on February 16, 1931.
- Wayne King and his orchestra vocals Ernie Birchill recorded this song on February 18, 1931.
- Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, with vocal by Scrappy Lambert, recorded the song on February 26, 1931.
- Teddy Raph & his orchestra recorded this song on April 6, 1931, with vocal by Smith Ballew.
- Jack Leon And His Band, in August 1931 with vocalist Les Allen.
- Frankie Laine on June 13, 1950.
- Vaughn Monroe on September 8, 1950.
- Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (both separately, and as a duet in 1950)
- Ella Mae Morse for her 1957 album The Morse Code.
- Doris Day recorded on August 23, 1957 with Paul Weston on the album Day by Night
- Joni James in 1962
- Barbara Carroll
- The Nat King Cole trio
- Dean Martin
- Jack Owens
- Dinah Shore
- Bing Crosby recorded the song on February 19, 1957 for his album Bing With A Beat.
- The Mamas & the Papas recorded the song on their 1968 album The Papas & The Mamas; this version was released as a single credited to lead singer Mama Cass
- A sound-alike cover of Cass Elliot's version appeared on the 1968 album Top of the Pops, Volume 2.
- Anita Harris had a UK single release 26 July 1968.
- Sung in Italian by French singer Sylvie Vartan as Nostalgia (Nostalgy), in 1969. She also sang a version in French ("Les Yeux Ouverts").
- Recorded by Henry Mancini for his 1969 album A Warm Shade of Ivory.
- Included on the Mills Brothers 1969 album of the same name, released by Pickwick Records.
- Recorded in Spanish as "Sueño Que Estoy Junto A Ti" by Caterina Valente on her 1969 album Nothing But Aces recorded with the Edmundo Ros Orchestra; another Spanish rendering: "Sueño En Gris", was recorded by Ana Belen for her album A La Sombra De Un León (1988)
- The Finnish rendering: "Elän Yhä Muistoissain", was a 1969 single release by Anki
- German versions were recorded in 1976 by Daliah Lavi: "Schließ Mich Ein In Deinen Traum" (include me in your dream), and in 2007 by Barbara Schöneberger: "Sag Es Mir In Deinem Traum" (tell me in your dream)
- French singer Enzo Enzo sang a French version ("Les yeux ouverts") on her 1990 album Enzo Enzo.
- French music 4 marriages pour 1 lune de miel TF1, composed by Samuel Vallée (Piano)
- Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø sang it in 1992, found as #6 on her 1992 album Gift of Love, released 1993.[22][23]
- Laura Fygi included the song on her 1991 solo debut album Introducing.
- Kate Ceberano recorded a version for her 1994 album Kate Ceberano and Friends.
- It was recorded in the style of the The Mamas & the Papas, vocals Terry Hall and Salad for The Help Album in 1995.
- It was covered by Chicago on their 1995 album Night and Day Big Band. The song was recorded featuring Jade on backing vocals and Paul Shaffer on piano.
- Children's entertainers Sharon, Lois & Bram recorded the song on their 1995 album Let's Dance!.
- Sung by Czech singer Lucie Bílá as "Hvězdy jako hvězdy" (Stars like Stars) which became also the name of her 1998 album.
- Covered by Candye Kane on her 1998 album Swango.
- Covered by Silje Nergaard on her 2000 album Port of Call.
- Korean composer and pianist Yiruma (이루마) plays this song on his 2001 album First Love: Piano Collection.
- Covered by James Darren on his 2001 album Because of You.
- Performed by British group The Beautiful South on the 2001 album Solid Bronze and the 1995 US release of Carry On up the Charts. They recorded a version in French ("Les Yeux Ouverts") for the movie French Kiss, which was re-used in the film The Devil Wears Prada. Both English and French versions can be found as B-sides on CD 2 of their single "Don't Marry Her"
- Anita Meyer on her 2009 album release Tears Go By, recorded with Metropole Orkest
- Recorded by Tony Bennett and k.d. lang, released in 2002 on their duet album A Wonderful World.
- Recorded by American jazz pianist Eyran Katsenelenbogen on his 2002 solo album It's Reigning Kats & Dogs & Bogen and on his 2009 album 88 Fingers
- Goth musician Rozz Williams performed a live cover of the song which appears on the 2003 live album Accept the Gift of Sin.
- American indie rock band My Morning Jacket performed the song in 2004 for Early Recordings: Chapter 2: Learning, a compilation.
- Former Albuquerque, New Mexico, rockabilly singer turned torch diva, Bernadette Seacrest and "her Yes Men" recorded an uptempo version for their album, No More Music by The Suckers. The album was released in 2004 on the ThrillBomb label . Seacrest has since moved to Atlanta, Ga.
- Recorded by Anne Murray on her 2004/2005 album I'll Be Seeing You / All of Me.
- Recorded by Dala (Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther) on the 2005 album Angels & Thieves.
- Performed by Diana Krall on the 2007 album We All Love Ella: Celebrating The First Lady Of Song, a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.[24]
- German power metal band Blind Guardian performed a heavy metal rendition on their 2007 single "Another Stranger Me".
- Recorded by English barrelhouse blues/boogie band Tipitina on their 2007 album "I Wish I Was In New Orleans"
- Recorded by Nicole Atkins on her 2008 album Nicole Atkins Digs Other People's Songs.
- Recorded by Claw Boys Claw on their 2008 album Pajama day.
- Jimmy Demers performs this song on his debut album Dream A Little (2008).
- Performed by Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester on their 2008 album and live show "Heute nacht oder nie".
- Helen Schneider recorded the song as "Dream a Little Dream" making it the title cut of her 2008 album of standards.
- Recorded by Mark Weber for his 2008 jazz-pop album, When I Fall In Love.
- Recorded by French Singer Matthieu Boré on the 2009 album FriZZAnte!!.
- British synthpop duo Erasure released their own version to celebrate Christmas 2009. As of December 2009 it can be heard via streaming audio on their website at www.erasureinfo.com.
- Performed by Vassilikos on his 2009 album Vintage.
- Performed by Michael Bublé on his 2010 EP Special Delivery.
- Sung by the barbershop quartet OC Times on their 2010 album Destinations.
- Chapel Club - Surfacing (and Ewan Pearson Remix)
- Eddie Vedder on his solo album Ukulele Songs.
- A Drum & Bass track using Elliot's version was recorded in 2010 by Drew "Kaos" Freeman
- The Courteeners as a B-side to "No You Didn't, No You Don't".
- Recorded by Asian Pop Queen Tracy Huang on her 2012 album Tracy Lullaby.
- Performed by Davina and the Vagabonds on their Live at the Times album.
- Sung by opera singer and coloratura soprano Sumi Jo for her classical crossover album released in Korea.
- Recorded by Arielle Dombasle for her 2006 album C'est si bon.
- Sung by South Korean recording artist Lee So-ra for her pop compilation album 'My One And Only Love'.
- Recorded by British artist, Robbie Williams on his 2013 album Swings Both Ways.
- Sung by Nicholas McDonald in week 5 of the tenth series of The X Factor
- Appears on Dream a Little Dream by Pink Martini and the Von Trapps. It is sung by Amanda von Trapp with backup by her brother August.
- Recorded by Little Jackie for their 2014 album Queen of Prospect Park.
- Recorded by Zee Avi in her 2014 album Zee Avi's Nightlight.
- In 2014, Barry Manilow recorded his version, which is a duet with the Mama Cass recording, for his album My Dream Duets.
Performances in other media
- During the mid- to late 1980s, the toy mechanical teddy bear Teddy Ruxpin "sang" several old love songs, including "Dream a Little Dream of Me".
- It was the theme song in the 1989 movie Dream a Little Dream, and featured two versions: a solo by Mickey Thomas, and a duet by him and Mel Tormé.
- At the beginning of the 1989 movie The Dream Team, an enfeebled man (played by singer-accordionist Bill Goffi),[25] sitting in the sanatorium, sings it.
- In the 1989 Carl Reiner film, 'Bert Rigby, You're a Fool,' Bert (Robert Lindsay) sings the song to his girlfriend in a dream sequence homage to the movie "An American in Paris."[26]
- A 1989 French ad for Yoplait Yop brand yogurt,[27] "Yoplait yop: Yaourt à boire" (one of several thus titled) had the Mama Cass version as its sound track.
- In Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D (1991), Miss Piggy sings the song as a loosely parodied version of Mama Cass.
- Burgess Meredith sang the song as a lullaby to the girl playing his great-granddaughter (Allie, played by Katie Sagona) in the 1995 movie Grumpier Old Men.
- The song is heard in the final scene of the 1996 movie Beautiful Thing, as the two main characters dance outside their apartment complex.
- A few verses were sung by John Crichton, portrayed by Ben Browder, in the Farscape 2000 episode "Dream a Little Dream".
- Brittany Murphy can be heard singing parts of it throughout the 2001 film Don't Say a Word.
- It is performed by the Egyptian actress Yousra in the 2006 movie The Yacoubian Building.
- Zooey Deschanel performed live by at fashion designer Erin Fetherston's 2007 show.
- Pete Doherty and Carl Barat performed it as a party piece during the first iteration of The Libertines. Most recently they performed it at the Hackney Empire on April 12, 2007, during a surprise reunion show for the duo. Barat often tap-dances during the performance.
- Sung by Bobbi Eakes on the June 14, 2007, broadcast of ABC's All My Children.
- The song provides the title for Season 3 Episode 10 (2008) of Supernatural.
- The character Artie Abrams, portrayed by Kevin McHale, sings the song on Glee in the episode "Dream On" (2010).
- The song is featured in Anand Tucker's 2010 movie Leap Year.
- It can be heard during the final scene and closing credits of the 2010 movie Repo Men.
- The Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong duet version of the song is featured in the 2011 Hallmark Channel movie The Lost Valentine.
- Used for the opening and closing credits for the HBO film Cinema Verite (2011).
- In a 2012 video advertisement for Premier Inn, an instrumental version of the song is background behind the announcer's voice.[28]
- Caro Emerald performed it on Dutch TV in connection with her winning De Gouden Notekraker for live musical performance in 2012.[29]
- Actress Sarah Paulson performs a snippet of the song in the second episode of the fourth season of American Horror Story, playing the conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler.
- Jaymay sang it for the 2014 movie A Good Marriage.
- "Devil You Know", an episode of the TV series Boardwalk Empire's fifth and final season (2014) heavily features actress/singer Margot Bingham's version of the song.
- A version of the song is used in the TV commercial for Travel Counsellors aired on UK channel ITV1 in June and July 2015.
References
External links
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